Praxis and language: Teaching newly arrived migrant children to “live well in a world worth living in”

Authors

  • Mervi Kaukko Monash University, Australia
  • Jane Wilkinson Monash University, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2018vol27no2art834

Keywords:

praxis, ethics, language schools, TESOL, Finland, Australia, newly arrived students

Abstract

This article continues the well-established discussion of the ethics of TESOL by adopting a praxis perspective that views TESOL as holistic, ethical and moral task, rather than a technical task of delivering learning outcomes in a new language. This article is informed by the authors’ empirical research in Finnish preparatory classes, and in intensive English language schools in Australia, including interviews with teachers, students and educational leaders. Drawing on literature and this research we consider how English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) and Finnish as a Second Language (F2) teaching can promote “a good life” for the individual learner and human kind.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

  • Mervi Kaukko, Monash University, Australia

    Mervi Kaukko is a Finnish researcher and a teacher, currently based at Monash University, Australia. Mervi’s current research has three primary areas: migration and refugee research, intercultural education and practice theories/praxis. For example, Mervi is interested in finding out what kind of educational arrangements enable refugee students’ learning and school wellbeing in their new home countries.

  • Jane Wilkinson, Monash University, Australia

    Jane Wilkinson is Associate Dean, Faculty of Education, Monash University. Jane researches educational leadership for social justice focusing on youth of refugee origin in schools and universities. Jane’s latest book is Navigating complex spaces: Refugee background students transitioning into higher education (with Naidoo, Adoniou and Langat, Singapore: Springer, 2018).

References

Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA). (2015). EAL/D elaborations of the Australian Professional standards for teachers for use when working with learners of English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). Retrieved from http://www.tesol.org.au/files/files/531_60238_EALD_elaborations-Full_Version_Complete.pdf

Australian Human Rights Commission (2018). Face the facts. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-cultural-diversity

ACARA. (2014). English as an additional language or dialect teacher resource EAL/D learning progression: Foundation to year 10; Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2013.

Alisaari, J., Heikkola, L. M. Commins, N. & Acquah, E. (in press). Monolingual ideologies confronting multilingual realities. Teaching and Teacher Education.

Alisaari, J., Attwood, E., Commins, N., Vigren, H., & Acquah, E. (2018, September). Schooling expectations for learners from migrant background: Contrasting views of Finnish teachers and immigrant parents. Presentation at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Bolzano, Italy.

Australian Curriculum and Assessing and Reporting Authority. (2012). Diversity of learners. Retrieved from http://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Information_Sheet_Diversity_of_learners.pdf

Blair, K., Dunn, K., Kamp, A., & Alam, O. (2017). Challenging racism project: 2015–16 national survey. National Survey Report. Penrith, N.S.W: Western Sydney University. doi:10.4225/35/58cb62d270392

Boyden, J. (2013). “We’re not going to suffer like this in the mud”: Educational aspirations, social mobility and independent child migration among populations living in poverty. Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 43(5), 580–600. doi:10.1080/03057925.2013.821317

Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical. London: Falmer.

Clark-Kazak, C. (2012). Challenging some assumptions about ‘refugee youth’. Forced Migration Review, (40), 13–14.

Correa-Velez, I., Gifford, S. M., & Barnett, A. G. (2010). Longing to belong: Social inclusion and wellbeing among youth with refugee backgrounds in the first three years in Melbourne, Australia. Social Science & Medicine, 71(8), 1399–1408. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.07.018

Crookes, G. (2009). Values, philosophies, and beliefs in TESOL: Making a statement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Cummins, J. (2011). Putting the evidence back into evidence-based policies for underachieving students. Language Policy Division, Directorate of Education and Languages, Council of Europe. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2011). Foundations for a stronger, fairer Australia. Social Inclusion Unit. Canberra, Australia.

Doecke, B., Kostogriz, A., & Illesca, B. (2010). Seeing “things” differently: Recognition, ethics, praxis. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 9(2), 81–98. Retrieved from https://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/files/etpc/files/2010v9n2dial1.pdf

Dryden-Peterson, S. (2016). Refugee education. Educational Researcher, 45(9), 473–482. doi:10.3102/0013189X16683398

Dufon, M. (1993). Ethics in TESOL research. TESOL Quarterly, 27(1), 157–160. doi:10.2307/3586970

Dumenden, I. (2014). The soft bigotry of low expectations: The refugee student and mainstream schooling. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 35(3), 484–486. doi:10.1080/0142569 2.2014.904144

Department of Education and Teaching. (2017). The EAL Handbook. Advice to schools on programs for supporting students learning English as an additional language. Department of Education and Training.

European Commission. (2017). Standard public opinion. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/ instruments/STANDARD/surveyKy/2143

Family Federation of Finland. (2017). Maahamuuttajien määrä Suomessa. Retrieved from http://www.vaestoliitto.fi/tieto_ja_tutkimus/vaestontutkimuslaitos/tilastoja/maahanmuuttajat/maahanmuuttajien-maara/

Finnish Government. (2016). Government integration programme for 2016–2019 and government resolution on a government integration programme. Publications of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Ministry, 47/2016, Retrieved from https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/79156/TEMjul_47_2016_verkko.pdf ?sequence=1

Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. (2017). Maahanmuuttajien opetus. Ministry of Education.

Finnish National Agency for Education. (2014). Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education Helsinki: Finnish National Agency for Education.

Freire, P. (1969/2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.

Gindidis, M. (2013). Australian community languages teachers: A phenomenological study. Doctoral Dissertation, Monash University.

Graham, H., Minhas, R., & Paxton, G. (2016). Learning problems in children of refugee background: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 137(6). doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3994

Groundwater-Smith, S., Mitchell, J., Mockler, J., Ponte, P. & Rönnerman, K. (2013). Facilitating practitioner research: Developing transformational partnerships. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge.

Habermas, J. (1973). Theory and practice. Boston: Beacon. Habermas, J. (1989). The theory of communicative action. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action: Lifeworld and system: A critique of functionalist reason (Vol. 2). Boston: Beacon.

hooks, b. (2007). Vapauttava kasvatus. Helsinki: Kansanvalistusseura.

Kaukko, M., & Wilkinson, J. (2018). Learning how to go on: Refugee students and informal learning practices. International Journal of Inclusive Education. doi:10.1080/13603116.2018.1514080

Kemmis, S. (2009). Action research as a practice-based practice. Educational Action Research, 17(3), 463–474. doi:10.1080/09650790903093284

Kemmis, S., & Smith, T. J. (2008). Enabling praxis: Challenges for education. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publications.

Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. Singapore: Springer.

Keskitalo, P., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2014). “Language immersion tepee” as a facilitator of Sámi language learning. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 13(1), 70–79. doi:10.1080/15348458.2014.864215

Kincaid, K. (2011). Perspectives on global development 2012. Paris: OECD.

Korkiasaari, J. (2017). Maahanmuutto ja ulkomaalaiset Suomessa ”Ensimmäinen suomalainenkin oli ulkomaalainen”; Turku, Finland: Institute of Migration/Siirtolaisuusinstituutti.

Kristinsson, A. P., & Hilmarsson-Dunn, A. (2012). Unequal language rights in the Nordic language community. Language Problems and Language Planning, 36(3), 222–236. doi:10.1075/ lplp.36.3.02kri

Kubota, R. (2002). The author responds: (Un) Raveling racism in a nice field like TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 36, 84-92. doi: 10.2307/3588363

Lo Bianco, J. (2017 September). Language, education and social cohesion. Paper presented at the Language and Literacy Research Hub seminar: What are the connections between education and social cohesion? Educational, linguistic and psychological perspectives. At Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Parkville.

Lo Bianco, J. (2010). Some ideas about multilingualism and national identity. TESOL in Context, 20(1), 22–36.

Markus, A. (2017, September). Mapping social cohesion. Paper presented at the Language and Literacy Research Hub seminar: What are the connections between education and social cohesion? Educational, linguistic and psychological perspectives. At Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Parkville.

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1845/1998). The German ideology. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

Mattsson, M Johansson, I. & Sandström, B. (2008). Examining praxis: Assessment and knowledge construction in teacher education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Neilsen, R., Weinmann, M., & Arber, R. (2017). Australian TESOL contexts; a state of flux. TESOL in Context, 26(1), 2–6.

Niemi, H., Kallioniemi, A., & Toom, A. (2012). Miracle of education: The principles and practices of teaching and learning in Finnish schools. Rotterdam; Boston: Sense.

Noble, G. (2017, November). Doing diversity differently: multicultural education for a culturally complex world, Keynote Presentation at the Australian Association for Research in Education-Conference, November 2017, Canberra, Australia.

Orgocka, A. (2012). Vulnerable yet agentic: Independent child migrants and opportunity structures. In A. Orgocka, & C. Clark-Kazak (Eds.), Independent child migration - insights into agency, vulnerability and structure (pp. 1–13). San Francisco: Wiley Periodicals.

Pakulski, J., Markowski, S., & Markus, A. (2014). Attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity in australia. Journal of Sociology, 50(1), 10–22. doi:10.1177/1440783314522188

Pastoor, L. (2015). The mediational role of schools in supporting psychosocial transitions among unaccompanied young refugees upon resettlement in Norway. International Journal of Educational Development, 41, 245–254. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.10.009

Pastoor, L. (2016). Rethinking refugee education: Principles, policies and practice from a European perspective. International Perspectives on Education and Society, 30, 107– 116. doi:10.1108/S1479367920160000030009

Peguero, A. A., & Bondy, J. M. (2011). Immigration and students’ relationship with teachers. Education and Urban Society, 43(2), 165–183. doi:10.1177/0013124510380233

Phillipson, R. (2013). TESOL expertise in the empire of English. TESOL in Context, 22(2), 5–16. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=AEIPT;dn=201406

Ponte, P., & Smit, B. H. J. (2013). Education for all as praxis: Consequences for the profession. Professional Development in Education, 39(4), 455–469. doi:10.1080/19415257.2013.796 296

Pugh, K., Every, D., & Hattam, R. (2012). Inclusive education for students with refugee experience: Whole school reform in a south Australian primary school. Australian Educational Researcher, 39(2), 125–141. doi:10.1007/s13384-011-0048-2

Roy, L., & Roxas, K. (2011). Whose deficit is this anyhow? exploring counter-stories of Somali Bantu refugees’ experiences in “doing school”. Harvard Educational Review, 81(3), 521–541.

Scheepers, P., Gijsberts, M., & Coenders, M. (2002). Ethnic exclusionism in European countries. public opposition to civil rights for legal migrants as a response to perceived ethnic threat. European Sociological Review, 18(1), 17–34. doi:10.1093/esr/18.1.17

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic genocide in education, or worldwide diversity and human rights? Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2013). Today’s Indigenous education is a crime against humanity: Mother- tongue- based multilingual education as an alternative? TESOL in Context, 23(1), 82–124.

Souto, A.-M. (2011). Arkipäivän rasismi koulussa. Etnografinen tutkimus suomalais- ja maahanmuuttajanuorten ryhmäsuhteista. University of Eastern Finland.

Suarez-Orozco, C., Pimentel, A., & Martin, M. (2009). The significance of relationships: Academic engagement and achievement among newcomer immigrant youth. Teachers College Record, 111(3), 712–749.

Usman, L. M. (2012). Communication disorders and the inclusion of newcomer African refugees in rural primary schools of British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Progressive Education, 8(2), 102–120.

van Kan, C. A., Ponte, P., & Verloop, N. (2013). How do teachers legitimize their classroom interactions in terms of educational values and ideals? Teachers and Teaching, 19(6), 610–633. doi:10.1080/13540602.2013.827452

Vervliet, M., Rousseau, C., Broekaert, E., & Derluyn, I. (2015). Multilayered ethics in research involving unaccompanied refugee minors. Journal of Refugee Studies, 28(4), 468–485. doi:10.1093/jrs/feu039

Wilkinson, J. (2017). Reclaiming education in educational leadership. In P. Grootenboer, C. Edwards-Groves & S. Choy (Eds.) Practice theory perspectives on pedagogy and education: Praxis, diversity and contestation (pp. 231–241). Singapore: Springer International.

Wilkinson, J., Bristol, L., & Ponte, P. (2016). Professional development: Education for all as praxis. Abingdon: Routledge.

Williams, A. (1992). The ethics of TESOL. TESOL in Context, 2(2), 4–5.

Zilliacus, H., Holm, G., & Sahlström, F. (2017). Taking Steps towards Institutionalising Multicultural Education -The National Curriculum of Finland. Multicultural Education Review, 9(4), 231–248. doi: 10.1080/2005615X.2017.1383810

Zuckermann, G., Shakuto-Neoh, S., & Matteo G. (2014). Native tongue title: Proposed compensation for the loss of Aboriginal languages. Australian Aboriginal Studies (AAS) 2014(1), 55–71.

Downloads

Published

2018-12-19

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Praxis and language: Teaching newly arrived migrant children to “live well in a world worth living in”. (2018). TESOL in Context, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2018vol27no2art834
Share |

Similar Articles

1-10 of 116

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.